Law enforcement officials are seeking to interview an Air National Guardsman in connection with the leak of a trove of classified documents about the war in Ukraine and U.S. spying efforts around the world, according to a person familiar with the inquiry.
The airman, Jack Teixeira, is a leader of an online chat group that has a shared interest in guns and racist memes. He is a low-level enlisted member of the 102nd Intelligence Wing based on Cape Cod, Mass.
His involvement in the fast-moving federal investigation is not immediately clear, according to the person who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The leaked documents appear to be highly sensitive reports tied to the war effort in Ukraine, including data on military activities like U.S. drone spy planes in the area and Ukrainian forces’ use of ammunition. They appear to show how the U.S. views Ukrainian forces’ training and state of readiness, plus the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed in the ongoing conflict, as well.
More than 100 U.S. documents were leaked in all. The files also contained sensitive, classified information about the war in Ukraine, Russian military activity, China and the Middle East.
Teixeira oversaw a private Discord channel called Thug Shaker Central, according to multiple reports. The private chat group was comprised of about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teens, the reports say.
Chelsea Manning was also low-level military intelligence analyst and found responsible for a massive leak of secrets. Manning was eventually convicted and sentenced to 35 years for leaking more than 700,000 classified documents, including battlefield reports on Iraq and Afghanistan and State Department cables, while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
Manning said the leaks were intended to expose wrongdoing. She was pardoned by President Barack Obama.
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